Who would've known?
by Vikeeta
Summary: Lily Potter has studied at Beauxbatons up until now, and is starting at Hogwarts. What will happen when she catches the eye of a certain Malfoy? Doesn't matter he's in Gryffindor: his surname is still hated. Crappy summary, good story ;
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER I

Harry Potter hit the brakes with his foot and the car stopped. Ginny smiled at him and turned around to separate James and Albus, who had been bickering most of the journey about who they thought hottest in Gryffindor House.

James was already in his seventh year, while Albus was on his sixth. Next to them sat a very grown up Lily, already fourteen. She'd been studying abroad, at Beauxbatons, for the first three years of her school education. Now she would be starting her fourth at Hogwarts. Both James and Teddy, their adopted big brother, were proving to be big jerks regarding this. During all Summer, they'd been telling her not to 'go off and hook up with some big Slytherin loser'.

Lily wasn't used to rivalries. At Beauxbatons they weren't sorted out into Houses, there were just several groups in each year to make it easier for professors to actually teach. A classroom full of one hundred students would have certainly been hard to control. The decision of her moving back in and going to Hogwarts had been hers. She was fluent in French and had made good friends there, but she had no intention of taking a job in France and she wanted to try the school all her family had gone to. Besides, she was closer to home that way.

Lily sure was her grandmother's namesake. Her red hair was a few shades darker than her mother's, so that it resembled a furious fire, and it fell in waves around her pretty face. Two hazel eyes, much like her brother James's, sparkled, hiding a dangerous twinkle within. Lily was exceedingly good at Potions, Charms and Transfiguration. She could hex, jinx and curse most anything and she always won the duels. That meant that everyone was careful not to anger her, as they knew the consequences. She was also one of the youngest animagi in three generations. Even Teddy hadn't achieved that yet (although he had the Metamorphagus advantage, which was not that bad)

Due to all this, Harry had spoken to Mcgonagall and she had agreed that doing Fourth Year would be a sad waste of her talent. So she was going directly on to Fifth Year, the year of the O.W.L.S. She was deeply excited. She couldn't wait to get to the castle, into Gryffindor (although according to her Auntie Hermione she could very well be placed into Ravenclaw) and start working on more advanced stuff.

The Platform 9 and ¾ was full of parents waving goodbye to their children. The Potter family found the Weasley one soon enough. Ron messed Albus's hair.

"My Lord, you look more like your dad every freaking day" he mused.

"And I daresay James is so much like Sirius regarding personality it's a wonder he hasn't gotten himself expelled yet" Hermione said reproachfully, looking at her oldest nephew.

"Come on, Hermione, Sirius was never expelled"

"Mere luck" the woman answered.

"Mere awesomeness" Ron corrected, kissing his wife's temple.

"How is it that you never talk much about that Sirius James was named after, dad?" questioned Albus.

Harry's face went a little sour.

"Darling, we'll discuss this another time, your father always finds it hard to talk about him" Ginny whispered softly to her middle son.

"It's okay, darling, really. It's just... I sometimes miss him. He was my godfather, and it was partly my fault he died when he did" Harry's expression was contorted by the pain.

Lily gasped slightly and hugged him.

"I'm sure that's not true" she muttered.

"And I know it isn't true" Ginny smacked her husband in the head "Stop saying things like that, really! And you, miss, get on the damn train!"

Lily hopped on, followed closely by her brother Albus (James had jumped on as soon as he had gotten on the Platform) and her cousins Rose and Hugo. Rose was a proud Ravenclaw and Hugo was a Gryffindor, same as Albus and James. They all played Quidditch: Hugo was a tough beater, along with James, and Albus was the best catcher on the Gryffindor team. Though he was so physically similar to Harry, it was Ginny's abilities and personality he had taken after. Lily was the one who resembled their dad most. Not looking for trouble, but if she got into any, she always snaked her way out, winning something in the process. And she was brave, oh, yeah. Only not reckless. Lily just hoped that the Seeker spot would be free on the team. She was as good as Harry had been by then.

The train shot smoke from the chimney as it began to move. Harry looked on as it disappeared in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER II

"Lily, come" Hugo called her from the door of a compartment and she followed him inside. There, on the comfortable seats, four people looked up at her.

One was a pretty girl, with dirty blonde hair and glasses perched on her nose.

"My name is Elphaba" she presented herself "But please, just call me Elle"

"That's a singular name" Lily said quietly.

"My mum's a Muggle, and she loves musicals. She named me after the witch in 'Wicked'" apparently she wasn't thrilled at her mum's originality.

A bulky boy stood up and offered her his hand.

"I'm Eric Macmillan" he pompously said "My father was a Hufflepuff but he married a Gryffindor, Romilda Vane, so that's where I ended up in"

Lily smiled, trying to look as confident as possible.

The next girl, gorgeous in an almost inhuman way, stood up and hugged her. Dominique, her uncle Bill's daughter.

"I'm so happy you're in my year!" she excitedly said.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Elle asked, curiously.

"She's fourteen, but she's a clever one" Hugo explained, hands inside his pockets.

The next one was a black haired boy, gangly and tall, who quietly looked at her.

"This is William Hartshark" Dominique introduced him "He's a Ravenclaw, just like Rose, but he's good friends with Hugo here. However, he's in our year"

"Who isn't?"

"Hugo, as you well know, is in fourth year, Elle is too, and Eric and Will are both fifth years" Dominique summed up nicely.

The door opened swiftly and in came James, his eyes lingering on Eric and Will for a second too long. He was already in his Hogwarts uniform. James was a mix of Harry and Ginny, but had inherited neither's hair. His was a dark shade of brown, and he wore it long, down to his chin. Elle looked up at him in utter adoration. It was clear she fancied him.

"Sis, I just came to remind you that during the journey, you need not walk around the train"

"Would you give it a rest, James!" her eyes were blazing. She would NOT be treated like a little girl in front of new acquaintances, especially on her first year at Hogwarts.

Hugo saw that his cousin was about to give James a run for his money: her wand was out and pointed at her brother's face, and she was undoubtedly getting into a duelling position. Both Hugo and Dominique knew that if James so much as opened his mouth, he would be immediately jinxed.

Apparently, the seventeen year old knew what he was getting into, because he turned around and left.

Lily let herself plop on the seats and sighed heatedly.

"You kicked his ass, Lily!" Eric jeered.

"He's my brother: I have the right and the obligation to do it. Otherwise, his head would get much too big and we would have to make him live in the garden, cause he'd take up so much space"

The whole compartment burst out laughing. Even Will chuckled slightly and looked at her directly.

The door opened up again and in came Albus. Elle sighed again, her eyes never leaving him as he sat next to his sister.

"I've seen James storm off in a fit. You threatened him, did you?" he smiled.

"Yes, I did. Stupid asshole, he deserved it"

"I've no doubt. Anyway, glad to see you've already made friends. Dominique, Hugo" he acknowledged "Oh, hey there, Will, long time no see"

Will high-fived him.

"We're kicking your butts this year, Potter" he said.

"Oh, I highly doubt that" Albus pretended to shove dust from his shoulders in a mock-arrogance gesture "Will is one of Hogwart's best Catchers. He's a right pain when playing against them"

Lily grinned at Will and he did back.

"Now, I'm leaving or Scorpius'll have a fit. I promised him we would go over the reviews before dusk, and the sun's already going down"

Albus kissed his sister's head, said goodbye to everyone (Elle dreamily giggled) and left.

"Do you fancy both of my brothers?" Lily asked her.

Dominique rolled her eyes.

"Elle likes most everyone. Eric and her hooked up last year"

The two blushed the fiercest shade of red, almost matching Lily's hair colour.

"Did you need to say that?" Eric said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, get a grip, it's the worst kept secret in Gryffindor, and perhaps in the whole school" Hugo sneered.

"Oh, no, you Weasley, you did NOT just sneer at me" Elle playfully snapped.

Hugo wiggled his eyebrows and Elle flushed.

Lily laughed heartily with the rest of the people. It was fun watching Hugo taunt Elle to almost insanity.

"We're getting there! Guys, OUT!" Dominique shouted as she looked through the window.

Even though Lily was in fifth year, she had to go with the first years with and old, battered Hagrid across the lake on the boats and listen to the instructions issued by Neville Longbottom. When the Great Hall's doors opened up, Lily felt a jolt of embarrassment. She couldn't really hide, she was three times taller than any of the little children that formed the cue to be Sorted. She could feel the eyes of everyone on her. By the time they had reached the place where the Hat was, there was no real difference between the colour of her hair and of her skin.

Apparently, Macgonagall wanted the torture over with too, so she read her name out first.

"Potter, Lily!"

A few whispers were heard.

"That's Harry's daughter?"

"She's so hot"

"How come she's so old?"

"Where's she been?"

Before the Hat was placed on her head, she managed to perceive someone's mild interest in her. It was a quizzical gaze, but she was unable to place it exactly among the thousands of students inside the Great Hall. After all, it had been a flash...

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat shrieked.

She grinned as Professor Longbottom retrieved the Hat. She half-ran to the table, and again, she felt that odd intuition that someone was looking intensely at her.

"All three Potters!" James chanted "Mum and Dad will have a blast!" he rubbed his sister's head a little too harshly, probably revenge from what had happened on the train.

Albus threw his arm around Lily's shoulders.

"I'm glad" he whispered, grinning wildly.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER III

That night, as Lily finally relaxed in the Gryffindor Common Room, she realised how many people in her family were at Hogwarts. The eldest there were James and Lucy (Percy's youngest daughter), along with Fred (George's son). Then came Albus, together with Rose, Roxanne and Lorcan and Lysander (who weren't really family, as they were Luna Lovegood's children by Rolf Scamander, but were as good as, for they had all known each other since forever). Next were Dominique and herself, and last but not least, stood Hugo and Louis (Bill's youngest), two rightful troublemakers.

No wonder the Gryffindor House was also known as the Quasi-Weasley Clan. It was hard to find a year with no Weasleys in it at all!

"Let me guess, you're just noticing how many of us there really are" Albus smirked.

She quickly turned around to face him. He was standing next to a young man with platinum blond hair hanging loosely around a thin, pointed face. The boy was tall and thin, but not in the scrawny way Albus was. He looked more athletic.

"May I introduce you to my best mate, sis? This is Scorpius Malfoy. Scorp, this is my sister Lily"

Lily had heard James bickering about that friendship. And it hadn't only been him. Harry, Ron and Hermione had all pursed their lips together without further comment when they heard about it. Just the occasional tense question, mostly issued by Ginny, who didn't have as much hatred inside of her against Draco, Scorpius's father.

Lily knew James was watching her closely. He probably thought this boy belonged to Slytherin and that he had fooled everyone when he was accepted into Gryffindor. Everyone had sure been surprised, yeah. But James wasn't going to let him out of his sight, especially around little Lils.

She shook the thoughts off and stuck out her hand for him to shake. He smiled a little at the gesture, but said nothing as he shook her hand gently. She felt the strange urge to look into his eyes.

There they were. Those mesmerizing eyes she had so noticed looking at her during the Sorting. Grey eyes, the colour of clouds when they announce rain.

"Hi" she said softly.

He nodded and widened his smile, without letting go.

A growl was heard from the corner. Lily saw James take out his wand and quickly pointed at him with hers.

"What was that?" she snapped.

"What was... you hadn't dropped... you _still_ haven't dropped hands" James scowled, his eyes fixed on Scorpius.

Instead of doing what James clearly wanted done, he just held her closer to him.

Lily blinked furiously. She was being embraced by a guy she'd never met. She felt her face grow hot.

"Malfoy, let her go or I'll swear I'll..."James looked positively pissed.

"You'll what?" Scorpius voice rang soft and yet clear as a bell.

"I'll hex you into a worm, which is nothing more than what you truly are!" James roared.

Scorpius messed his hair with his free hand in what was apparently an embarrassed, apologizing way.

"Gee, Potter, you're getting more original with your insults each passing year"

Even Lily had to laugh at that one. The contrast between Scorpius's physical attitude and they way he made the subtle insult roll inside his mouth was most curious. Talking about physical... Lily thought... she could feel each and every one of his abs- she'd been mistaken, then, he had a thin constitution, but he was definitely strong and all the bulky he could get- and was getting flushed.

"Okay, guys, I see you've made your point" Dominique interrupted "Scorpius, you fancy Lily, and James, you don't want Scorpius to fancy Lily. Sort that out. Meanwhile, Malfoy, let Lily breathe, or there'll be nothing worth sorting out"

Scorpius looked at Lily directly and quite involuntarily released her. He winked at her.

Lily was angrier than she could possibly express: at James for behaving like such a possessive toerag, at Scorpius for quite forcing himself on her, no matter how attracted she was to him, and at Dominique for putting it so bluntly in front of everyone.

Without further comment, she stampeded up the stairs and into her room, closing the door with a loud bang. She let herself fall on the bed and closed her eyes. A pair of greyish orbs invaded her mind, and she moaned in defeat. She didn't realise she was falling asleep until she woke up next morning.

Dominique was waiting for her, already dressed up in her uniform and standing by the door. Her blue eyes reflected a clear, sweet apologize. Lily nodded and her cousin hugged her:

"I'm so sorry, Lils" she muttered "I'm so used to messing around with James and Scorp it didn't occur to me that it would affect you too"

"It's okay" she replied, changing into the robes. She had decided to let it go. Have a fresh start. And control her temper just a little bit more. Last night she had been about to hex everyone in the Common Room to make them forget the event. She had to learn to keep it under check.

Hugo was already in the Great Hall, eating up. He'd inherited Ron's love for eating and even though he was tall and lanky, the quantity of food he ingested every day was baffling. Elle was watching him with her mouth half opened. Hugo's eating wasn't known for it's politeness, and it seemed most people sitting at the table thought fascinating how he bit large chunks of toast, bacon and scrambled eggs, chewed them for a couple of seconds and made a huge attempt to push it down his throat.

"You know, Hugo, people are going to puke" Lily said, disgustedly.

"I'f nof mafing themf waf" he answered with his mouth full.

Both Dominique and Lily had had enough experience with Ron and Hugo to understand what he was saying. They kept on their reproachful faces.

When Hugo managed to slip down a particularly large piece of toast (half of it, along with a whole fried egg and a piece of sausage) some Gryffindors even cheered at him. He stood up to bow down before Dominique brusquely hit him on the head.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For being an evil, disgusting clown. Sit down!" his cousin snapped, pulling him back to his seat.

Neville was walking around the Hall, giving each student their timetables. When Lily looked at it, she half groaned: Potions, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. Just great!


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER IV

Potions turned out to be far more interesting at Hogwarts than with strict Professor Aubaeau at Beauxbatons. The teacher here, a thirty-year old man, was enthusiast about his subject and tried to push them to extremes. The first potion he sent them to do was "The Drought of Shifting", a most complicated exercise with countless instructions and very clear, precise measurements.

"This particular concoction should be able to turn you into an animal" Professor Rugbun explained "Can anyone tell me what animal you'd be transformed into?"

Looking around, and seeing that nobody had their arms raised, Lily answered back:

"It depends on the skin, hair, feather or scale you add to it, sir"

"Splendid!" Rugbun answered, clapping his hands together. He looked about to faint in excitement "Twenty points to Gryffindor!"

Everyone, even the Gryffindors, looked at each other in amusement. Those were many points to be awarded to a House for a single question, and a Slytherin girl opened up her mouth to protest:

"Professor! You awarded far too many points!"

Rugbun stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at her.

"Is that so?" he quietly asked.

The girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat, conscious of what the bickering had made her look like.

But the man just grinned at her and at everybody else.

"Okay, then, if you think you can do it better... this is a very difficult potion! If you, miss..." he was at a loss for words.

"Reyne, Jessie Reyne" she supplied.

"If you, miss Reyne" he continued with a big grin on his face "manage to surprise me by brewing a perfect potion, not only will I discount the twenty points of Gryffindor, but I shall also award you fifty. Of course, that not only applies to you, miss, but to each and every member of Slytherin within these for walls"

The whole class gaped, and Gryffindors rose their voices in fury.

"Shush!" Rugbun said "Same goes to Gryffindor. Whoever manages to make the best potion will be awarded fifty points, and twenty will be down scored from the rival House. Let the competition begin!"

Lily started right away. She started cutting and crushing the ingredients. Luckily, Professor Aubeau had ensured back then that each of her students knew which items to crush and which to cut. The whole first year had been spent on learning the properties of almost all potions ingredients, and the ones they were using were perfectly known to her. She measured each one with an excellence and speed that outranked everyone else's. Dominique watched with awe as she smoothly poured every single ingredient and stirred the potion the exact number of times.

She did not want to win the competition for the House. She was being mentally tested, and she was decided to rise to the expectations. Knowing the theory and not being able to apply it would look poor and stupid to Rugbun's eyes. She did not want to be classified as a mediocre Potions brewer. It was her master lesson. She had to be the _best_.

When the time was done, her potion was the clearest shade of green, as was indicated in the books. She looked up. Dominique was trying to fix her deep green concoction and the Slytherin girl, Jessie, looked tired but gleeful.

Professor Rugbun walked around the classroom, and marvelled at both Reyne's and Lily's creations.

"Marvellous! Looks like a draw, people!" he exclaimed.

Lily and Jessie gazed at each other, their lips tight together, their brows creased.

"It seems we'll have to decide based on the animal each transforms into" Rugbun added.

The two girls looked positively outraged.

"Professor, we have classes next!"

"Oh, relax, I have the counter potion here"he held up a tiny bottle... "oops! There's only enough for one person. The loser shall remain an animal for the rest of the day, then"

Both girls opened their mouths. The rest of the students were either laughing at the perspective or very frightened.

"Now, ladies, drink up!"

Lily took the spoon, looked defiantly at Reyne and the Professor, and put it to her lips.

Dominique watched as her cousin grew a tail, fur and large, piercing fangs. Soon, a beautiful tiger was looking a them, intelligence in her eyes.

"It's going to be hard to beat this one"

Reyne tried then.

She started to transform, colourful feathers growing out of her skin. In little time there was a paradise bird on the edge of the table. This one had no spark of humanity within her eyes. Rugbun exclaimed:

"A draw, then, people!"

"What are they going to do?" Dominique shrieked at him, enraged.

"Relax, they will go back to normal in just a few hours. Take them to your Common Rooms and then let them copy your notes for the next few subjects"

"What shall we tell the teachers?"

Rugbun paled.

"Oh, God, I hadn't thought about that! Well, then, you tell them what happened, and if they've got any doubts, make them come to me, all right?"

Dominique starting walking towards her cousin. She placed a hand on her head and caressed it smoothly.

"I'm sorry, Lils, this man is just aweful!" she mumbled to her, almost crying.

The tigress licked her from chin to beginning of hair playfully.

"Ew! Gross, Lily!" Dominique laughed, leading her out.

When they were out of Rugbun's ear reach, Lily transformed back into a human.

"Hey! That was barely five minutes you spent transformed! He said hours!"

"I didn't drink it, you silly! Like I was going to spend the whole day turned into an animal! They were tiger hairs, though"

"And how did you transform?" Dominique's eyes widened "You did NOT! You're a non-registered Animagus?"

Lily grinned.

"I aced Transfiguration" she told her "And I am registered, only just in France"

"Do your parents know?"

Lily huffed "No, and I'm not telling them, no chance at all!"

Lily was right about not telling her parents. Harry would probably grow furious at the fact that his youngest child had been attempting something as difficult as shape-shifting without being told, and Ginny, given her nerve and short temper, would undoubtedly fly to Beauxbatons and sue the school for letting her perform such advanced magic. Besides, the paperwork she'd have to go through to register in Britain would be certainly bothersome.

So the two girls marched up to their next lesson, having carefully planned the story that they would tell the rest of the students: that the potion was missing the duration ingredient and therefore hadn't been entirely perfect. No one seemed ready to push the matter further, though: they had been awarded twenty points thanks to her, plus the fact that the star student in Slytherin would spend all day as a bird while their most brilliant member turned back to normal was certainly something most liked.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER V

Divination turned to be downright boring: Trelawney was older, but still loved mysticism and predicted Dominique's death. It seemed this time the Potters were getting the best part of the deal... or so it seemed until the Professor turned to her:

"Oh, my! The youngest Potter! You should know that your brother is in great danger!" she cried.

"James? He's always in danger, he's such a grouch!"

"I mean the second one, Albus Severus!" snarled Trelawney, obviously ticked off at the fact that she didn't seem to take her seriously.

Surprisingly enough, Lily didn't appear to care very much. She knew only too well how the teacher loved to scare her students, because both her father and her uncle had told her and explained about several times Trelawney had actually said they would suffer fatal wounds.

And the undeniable fact that Albus was the spitting image of their dad was enough proof that it was only his looks that had provoked the death predicting.

Care of Magical Creatures was taught by a middle aged woman whose name was Galane. She was really good at it, and started them off by showing them Hippogriffs. Dominique and Lily paired up together and chose a grey one, which looked rather old but very wise. The creature, without so much as a doubt, approached Lily and shove his head against her cheek in a rather harsh but sweet way.

"This is most bizarre" Professor Galane said "I've never seen a Hippogriff behave so"

Lily patted his beak and stroked his feathers calmly.

"There, there, you big brute" she soothingly whispered.

Instead of getting angry, "Witherwings" as Galane called him, closed his eyes.

"I woul' think so" a gruffy voice called.

In front of them stood enormous Hagrid, old and curved over slightly. He looked kindly down at the students and went to Witherwings.

"Buckbeak, ol' pal. Remembered Harry, ha'e yer?"

Lily walked forwards and hugged the huge man tightly. He returned the embrace.

"Yer see, yer dad sav'd this Hippogriff" Hagrid explained gently "So 'e remembers, 'e does, and 'e recognized yer for yer smell"

He grinned as he saw her smile widening in wonder. It was truly incredible that Lily remained in the dark about Harry. He knew the Boy who Lived had chosen from the very beginning to keep as long as he could his life story from his children. He'd always been terribly careful. Harry didn't want his descendants to try and live up to him, to live in his shadow, or to feel like they were. So he'd kept most of the things he'd done when he was a teenager away from them.

However, once their children came to Hogwarts, he'd been unable to keep the secret. Most children, with the exception of Muggle-borns, did know who famous Harry Potter was, and of course, had told the tales about him to James when he first got there. Their versions were certainly twisted by awe. When James returned home for Christmas, he'd questioned Harry about everything he'd heard about it. The two eldest had listened to a detailed, precise tale, no exaggerations and no false modesty in it. Just the way it happened.

But Lily hadn't heard. She'd been too young at the time, only eight years old, and when she'd been eleven she'd gone to France to study. And though Harry was well known among the international wizarding community, young people in France were less immersed in Britain's story, so, up until know, she'd had no need whatosever to hear the story. But ever since she got there, she was looked upon by most everyone. James and Albus did seem to be very popular among the students. She decided that night to ask them about their dad.

James was playing Wizard Chess with a friend of his, and hadn't talked to Lily in the whole day, so he was clearly surprised when she strode up to him and asked him if he could talk to her. No matter how much they sometimes picked on each other, they did care for one another.

"I want to know about dad" she quietly said.

James smiled. He'd known.

"Okay, then. First of all, you need to understand that there is a reason Slytherin is the worst liked House in the school. Out of that House came out really bad wizards. The worst of all was called Voldemort"

A few people jumped at the name.

"Ah, get used to it!" James sniggered "Anyways, Voldemort was a really sick, evil man. He killed countless people, tortured many others"

"Why?" she gasped.

"Because he defended what he called 'blood purity', which is to mean, only people descending from the all wizard families, and not Muggle-borns, should be allowed to use magic, and the non-magical people would be subjected to us"

"But that's stupid" Lily was outraged.

"Oh, yes. The part regarding dad started when James, our grandfather, who was a Pure-blood, married Lily, who was, as they called them "Mudblood", meaning her blood was filthy. Right before dad was born, Trelawney made a real prophecy, not like the ones she makes in class, those are plain inventions" he explained as he saw Lily crease her brows in suspicion "The prophecy basically said that a boy would be born who would defeat him. So he decided to murder him while he was still a baby. He found out where our grandparents were hiding and killed them. Then he tried to kill dad, but Lily, by sacrificing herself, had placed a powerful magic on him that repelled Voldemort's spell and rebound on to him. Voldemort, reduced to less than a ghost, flew to Albania, stripped of his powers. Meanwhile, our father was sent to live with Uncle Dudley and his stupid, Muggle, vengeful parents. They bullied him for eleven years, even more, if you count Summer time. When he was eleven, though, Hagrid found him. He didn't know about his parents, about magic. They never told him, he actually thought our grandparents died in a car crash. So when Hagrid found him, he was flipped. He was sent to Hogwarts with a basic knowledge of who he was and the myth surrounding him. On his first year, he stopped Voldemort from regaining power by stopping him from seizing the Philosopher's Stone. On his second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened and a Basilisk was sent to kill Muggle-borns. Fortunately, it didn't. However, it did capture mum and took her to the Chamber. Dad killed the Basilisk and rescued mum, and on the way, destroyed a Horcrux (we will get there, eventually). On the third year, dad met his godfather, Sirius, who was considered a mass-murderer and the traitor who provoked James's (who he was best friends with) and Lily's death. It was discovered, later on the year, that it was Peter Pettigew who was to blame. Nonetheless, Pettigrew escaped and the Ministry didn't stop pursuing Sirius. That was also the year that dad met Remus Lupin, Teddy's dad, and found out that Dementors affected him more than to other people. Fourth year, dad was selected to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. He was the fourth champion. A Death Eater (Voldemort's followers, that is) had impersonated the Auror and Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Mad-Eye Moody, and he enchanted the Goblet of Fire to become a Portkey. Dad and Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion, were taken to a graveyard where Diggory got killed and dad witnessed Voldemort's returned to full powers. Luckily, he managed to escape"

"Why didn't I know about all this?" Lily looked outraged "So that's where my name comes from?"

"Not only are you named after grandma, Lils, you're apparently her spitting image, like Albus is dad's. The only thing that changes, if I remember correctly, are the eyes. Hers were green"

Lily couldn't believe such thing, and she managed to chuck this piece of information out.

"You have to believe it" Albus said from the dorm stairs, holding a piece of paper "Here, take a look"

It was a very old photograph, showing a whole bunch of people. She rapidly identified her grandparents, standing tall and proud. And yes, she had to admit the Lily she saw in the picture and herself were incredibly similar. They both had high cheekbones, sweet face, even almond shaped eyes. Their hair was exactly the same, falling in the same way around their faces in long, soft waves. James looked like her father, with very few differences. Next to him stood another man, handsome-looking, with long, curly hair and smiling wildly at her.

"That's Sirius, isn't it?" she asked James, tears twinkling in her eyes.

James grinned and looked down at his namesakes, waving at them. He was also feeling emotive for the relatives he would never meet.

"What about Albus's names?" she asked curiously.

"Ah, well, we're getting there. While dad was at school, Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster. He was incredibly powerful and loved among the students and the wizarding community. He was the only wizard Voldemort was supposed to fear, besides, dad, of course. And he acted almost like a father towards dad, too. He cared deeply for him, more than for any other student"

"And Severus? That is a weird name!"

Albus laughed uncomfortably. James gave him the word, knowing fully well that was his side of the story to tell.

"It's going to sound strange to you at first. Severus Snape was dad's Potions teacher and he _hated_ dad, because he and James (granddad, that is) had been enemies at school. However, Snape was always in love with Lily, and he tried to save her from Voldemort. He had been a Death Eater, but switched sides as soon as Lily was threatened. From then on, he worked intensely as a double agent. But he never did stop hating dad. After all, it was the proof of Lily's rejection and his love for his greatest rival and enemy"

Lily thought about this fact. How hard had it been for him to do this stuff Albus was telling her about? How could he get over his hatred for the son of his enemy and save him, protect him, guide him... she did not know. This Snape character... she found a new respect for someone she didn't even know.

"Anyway, fifth year, Fudge, Minister for Magic, refused to acknowledge Voldemort's return and tried to make Dumbledore and dad look like liars and trouble-makers. He named teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts Dolores Umbridge, his senior under-secretary. What a bitchy wart she was!" he snarled furiously "That was the year Sirius was killed by the hand of Bellatrix Lestrange, the worst and most evil Death Eater there was, the torturer into insanity of Professor Neville Longbottom's parents, murderer of so many people... Sirius's killer"

Lily turned back to the photograph and looked into Sirius's eyes. He was no longer smiling, but looking at her intently. She then focused on a shabby looking man, taller than the rest, but equally close.

"This is?"

"Remus" Albus answered, grinning at the picture.

"Teddy does look like him" she said softly "His mother isn't here, is she?"

"No, Tonks was much too young at that time. She was a few years younger than Remus, only twenty four when they married, I think" James added.

"Let's continue tomorrow, shall we?" Albus said "It's extremely late and we have class tomorrow"


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER VI

On the next day, Lily actually rummaged at breakfast all she'd heard from her brothers the night before. She'd guessed that her dad's life had been pretty complicated, and she _did_ know that he was fairly popular, but she'd thought it was because he was the youngest Head of the Auror Department ever. Now she looked back at the story, she understood why. She knew her siblings were just giving her a summary, and that the real story would be extremely long to tell. So she asked Dominique.

"Are you really going on about that?" she wondered in amazement "There are entire books dedicated to Uncle Harry in the library. There's one which is specially good, see, it was written by Auntie Hermione, and she got all the facts in there, it's precise, but it's also emotive, because she was there and all. If you want the real thing, you should check it out"

"I don't reckon my dad will like it very much if I read his story from a book instead of asking him" she admitted.

"And I don't really think Uncle Harry wants to re-tell it again and again. I mean, you're his daughter and all, but it was extremely hard for him. Mind, Albus and James only gave you the general idea. You don't fully understand how utterly complicated it all was. Ask Rose, though, she's the real expert in this particular subject"

It so appeared that Rose had already gone off to class, so she'd have to wait until the end of the lessons to get to talk to her. Rose wasn't somebody who you could talk to if you saw her down the corridor, she was always hurrying up. She was much like her mum, with bushy hair (only in her it was orange instead of auburn) brown eyes and the same features. A few freckles were spread on her cheeks and she was taller than Hermione, taking after Ron in height, but that was it. Hugo more of a mix: his hair was brown but sleek and straight, and he had a long nose, a couple of freckles (it was the signature Weasley feature) and a thin body. He was shorter than Rose, but that could very well be because he was two years younger.

"Oh, we've got Transfiguration right now! I suck at it! Then Charms, which should be fun... and Defence Against the Dark Arts"

"Great day" Lily answered, biting off a delicious-looking toast with scrambled eggs and tomato sauce over it. She closed her eyes to enjoy the flavour.

"Earth to Lily!" Hugo was waving his hand in front of her "Hey!"

"What?"

"Macgonagall wants you in her office. She says she just wants to talk to you"

Lily, used to deal with Macgonagall's strict ways (she'd been like a grandma to them, sort of) ran to the Headmistress's office.

The old woman was waiting seated behind her desk. How old was she already? Almost eighty? But the woman who was known for her dryness and strict behaviour merely smiled at her and gestured for her to sit down.

"Rugbun came to tell me yesterday about that little experiment of his in Potions class. He said that you and Miss Reyne transformed with that concoction you brewed. Imagine my utter astonishment when I saw you prance around with Dominique in human form at lunch time. Don't give me that excuse you made up, I know you excel at Potions making"

It was _so_ like her to pretend she wasn't going to scorn her for anything but later do it. In a few short and embarrassed sentences, Lily explained to her.

"Child... you mean to tell me you're an Animagus?" Macgonagall was white in the face "Show me"

Lily stood up and went to the clearest part of the room, as to avoid throwing anything over. With a flick of her wand, she started transforming. Soon, a white and back Siberian tiger looked at the Headmistress, who was paling by seconds. Then, her expression became one she'd seen very few times on her face: a wild grin, a proud, joyous smile. That was something not many people could say they'd provoked on her.

"Please turn back to normal"

Lily did so immediately.

"This is incredible! You're only fourteen, and yet you're better than anyone I know. Why, you must be even more talented than Hermione Granger! More than Sirius Black and James Potter put together!"

"Minerva, don't insult the child, will you?" a voice coming from a painting close by said in a dread-like tone.

"Oh, Severus, don't you insult her granddad" Minerva answered back.

The man talking was middle-aged, with long, greasy black hair and dark eyes. He had a rather big nose and certainly looked scary. So _this_ was Severus Snape. Lily gazed at him curiously and he seemed to blush.

"She does look similar to her namesake, wouldn't you say, Severus?" Minerva asked.

"Except for the eyes, they could be twins" another voice- older, this time, and wiser- called from above.

It was Albus Dumbledore, Lily guessed right away. Something inside her felt warm and safe simply being in the presence of the painting.

"You do know that my brother has been named after you, sir?" Lily spoke softly and respectfully at him.

"A most ridiculous thing. But of course, Harry Potter is the noble, always noble man" Snape sneered.

"You still hate my dad, then?"

"No, he doesn't. He wants to keep up appearances" Dumbledore interjected, winking at her. She beamed.

"Anyway, you two, stop bickering! I will do all the paperwork, Lily Potter- and Snape flinched at the name- if you promise you'll tell your dad about this. I don't want to be the one to tell Harry Potter that his daughter has been an Animagus for I don't know how long without his express permission. Do I have your word, young miss?" she sternly said.

"Yes, ma'am"

"You may go to class. And by the way, Quidditch trials will be held tomorrow. I'd advise you to try out, I saw you fly last Summer and you'd make a gorgeous Gryffindor Seeker"


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII

Scorpius felt his stomach growl. He'd refused to go to dinner that evening, hoping he wouldn't run into Lily Potter. He groaned. What was it about the youngest Potter that had him in a haze? Why was he constantly thinking about her? Why did something switch and turn inside his tummy whenever he pictured her pretty face?

"Scorp, you all right?" Albus was waiting, hands in pockets, next to the bedroom door.

"Sorry... I was thinking" "Yeah, about my sister" Albus smirked.

Scorpius felt himself blush deeply and tried to deny it, but he knew and Albus knew that what he was mumbling wasn't true. After all, Scorpius could get away with lying swiftly to teachers when he didn't do homework, to girls when he said he loved them, but he could not, he had never been able to fool Albus. He knew him too well, Albus did, no matter what Scorpius tried to convince himself of. It had been Albus, after all, who had first approached him in the train. He grinned when he remembered.

_A blond-haired boy was sitting on the cushioned seat looking out the window. His mum had hugged him tightly and pushed him to the train. His father, on the hand, had knelt down and told him:_

"_Many will hate you because of what family you come from. But take one thing into consideration: none of it was your fault. Your granddad was a Death Eater for most part of his life, and even I was among his followers for two years. Whenever somebody insults you, and they will, mark my words, you have the right to blame us"_

_Scorpius had no intention of blaming his dad. Draco had certainly changed. He still looked stuck-up and his proud self, but deep inside, he was a caring father, a loving husband to Astoria and a really hard-working member of the Ministry. He worked in the Disposal of Magical Creatures department, and surprisingly, he acted as a lawyer whenever a Creature was submitted to be "disposed of". His best case had had to do with a Hippogriff. And no matter what people said, he admired Harry Potter and never spoke ill of him._

_So when that morning a couple of older boys ran into his compartment and insulted him, he turned his head away from them and waited for them to get the anger off their system. But surprisingly, the one student he'd never thought would even talk to him, had stood up for him, his green eyes blazing in anger._

"_Why do you care what he did to Harry Potter?" he growled at them._

"_Who are you, little twerp?" one the older boys cackled._

"_I'm Albus Severus Potter, and you've no business here! You don't have the right to talk in my dad's name and say those horrible things to him! What did he ever do to you?"_

"_His father was a Death Eater!"_

"_And yet he didn't kill anybody!" the tiny, black haired kid was really putting up a fight, Scorpius wondered in amusement "I won't let you bully first years just because they come from a family you don't like. I'm a first year too, you can take me! Come on and attack me!" he shrieked._

_The boys turned pale. Messing with Harry Potter's kid or his friend wouldn't look very good and had no intention of ruining their reputation. So they bailed._

"_Are you all right?" Albus had approached him and Scorpius hadn't been able to hold his laughter any longer. _

_He cracked up, holding his belly, trying to stop the loud noise coming from his mouth. When he was done, he said:_

"_You must be the craziest child ever!"_

_Albus looked affronted:_

"_You're not older than I am" age was a touchy subject for him._

"_Sorry, mate"_

_Albus had grinned and sat down._

It was hard to forget stuff like that. The boy who had the most reason to hate him and make his life miserable had actually stood up for him and faced sixth years in order to stop them from saying stuff which, given his knowledge on his father's past, he knew Draco had told Harry when they first met. Ever since, people had stopped bossing him around. His surname wasn't liked still, but the fact that he had made Gryffindor (to everyone's surprise except his family's, for Draco used to moan that his son was the noble, valiant sort of boy) was enough proof that he was _not _like the rest of his family. It didn't prove that he was the nicest of kids, because he was certainly mischievous enough to be compared to the Weasleys and did like pranks. Albus was quieter.

Even more astonishing was that Hugo, Ron's youngest child, had a good bit of fun with Scorpius, and they shared an excellent relationship. Though Draco's natural rival had been Harry, the hatred between Ron and Draco went much further.

After all, they were both descendants of long all-wizard families, of purebloods, yet they had had the most different ideas about it. Proof of it was that Ron had married a Muggle-born and Draco, though cured of his pureblood-mania, was married to a pure blood.

Astoria was the sweetest, most caring mother in the world. She hadn't a single complaint about anyone and she smiled warmly at everyone. How she'd ended up in Slytherin, Scorpius had no idea. She'd have made a good Hufflepuff. It might've been because, when Astoria was eleven (she was three years younger than Draco), all she cared about was pleasing her family, the very uptight, very wealthy Greengrass clan. Draco had formally met her when she was merely thirteen in a dinner-ball held in the Malfoy Manor to which all pure-blood families (with the exception of the traitors, that is) attended. She had liked Draco right away, he hadn't really paid much attention. It was when he was nineteen and she sixteen, that he'd noticed her. When she was finally eighteen, they got married. It was a discrete, yet happy wedding. And then they'd had Scorpius.

"SCORPIUS MALFOY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Albus's magically amplified voice almost left him deaf.

"What, you mangy little forest elf?" he growled back, massaging his temples.

"I'm hungry! Let's go to dinner!" Albus's voice had gone back to normal.

The Great Hall was almost full. Scorpius followed his best friend to the Gryffindor table and settled down. He was on his second chicken wing when Hugo came in, his ear being pulled by none other than Lily Potter. He fixed his gaze on the scene, acting like he was mildly interested, when in reality he desperately wanted to know what Lily was punishing him for.

"It was not that big of a deal, Lils" Hugo was saying with a pained expression on his face.

"Yes it was, you foul git!" Dominique snarled "You could've seriously hurt her!"

"I didn't do it on purpose, I just hit it!"

Albus, who was extremely protective of Lily in an entirely different way to James's way of caring, stopped eating and said in an apparently casual but threateningly soft voice:

"What happened?"

"They were practising Quidditch for the trials tomorrow when Hugo decided it would be big fun to hex a Bludger to follow your sister everywhere. Of course, as soon as she found out what was going on, Lily stopped it, but it almost crashed her head" Dominique summarised, still furiously.

Albus leaned over the table and grabbed a tuft of Hugo's brown head, making him lean over as well.

"If you ever attempt something as idiot as that again, I will personally rip your head off" he quietly told him.

Scorpius smiled, agreeing.

"Aren't you helping me here, mate?" Hugo said to him.

"You know you deserve this, right?" Dominique said "wait till I tell your sister and James"

"No! Rose and James no! They'll kick the crap out of me!" Hugo was really scared.

"What have you done now?" someone hissed from the table right next to theirs.

Rose, in her Ravenclaw uniform, was looking very seriously at her younger brother. If Hermione had been a sucker for rules, but had dared break a couple of them from time to time, Rose was even more attached to them and didn't like any kind of playing around. She was Prefect, after all, and had all the looks of becoming Head Girl the following year. Albus grinned at her, soothingly, and said:

"Hugo has been playing Explosive Snap during the free study hour"

Rose seethed, but made no further comment. Albus knew that Rose would've turned her own brother in to the Headmistress if he had told her about the Bludger, and he didn't really want the punishment to go that far. But by threatening him to tell her, he ensured he wouldn't do something so dumb in the future. James, on the other hand, would've taken out his wand and hexed him with every single spell he would've come up with. Albus knew. Albus had been on the receiving end.

Scorpius watched the family interact, and felt a punch in the stomach when Lily turned her gaze to him. She'd turned a little red... or was it just him imagining things? After the other day, she couldn't possibly like him, he'd acted like a jackass. But she, against everything he'd been thinking she'd do, smiled at him. A true, sweet smile.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER VIII

The Quidditch pitch was full of people who wanted to try out for the Gryffindor team. Among them, Lily, holding her brand new Lightning Bolt, assessed the rest of the candidates. She saw a few second years. Almost everyone who was trying out belonged to third or fourth year, though.

The captain of the team was Liza Wood, the Guardian. She also happened to be one of James's "playmates".

She rounded the future possible Seekers and issued a few instructions:

"First you'll fly around by turns, three at a time. You can try as many moves as you like" like her father, she didn't really mind if they got hurt trying to impress her. Quidditch was the first and only priority. Health could come after.

James and Albus winked at her. Hugo batted his eyelashes mockingly, but then grinned. All the Weasley clan new just how well Lily flew and they had no doubt she'd make the team. Soon enough it was clear she was the best there.

Lily let the broom soar into the air. She first warmed up, going around the pitch five times, gradually increasing the speed. The Lightning Bolt was the Firebolt's successor, even faster and even more magnificent. Harry had bought it for her when she said she'd try out for the Seeker position.

Soon, Lily had transformed into a blur, out-speeding the rest of the applicants. She twirled, ascended and descended.

"Lils, try it!" shouted Albus.

Harry and Albus had been helping her train, and their dad had showed her the most dangerous and impressive move in a Seeker's arsenal: The Wronski Feint.

With a sharp turn left, she descended at full speed.

Liza was assessing the wanna-bes with a critical eye. Hers was the best team at school, and their last Seeker, even though he'd been nothing like the legendary Potters (James and Harry had both been outstanding at it) he'd resembled Charlie Weasley.

So she was very hopeful when James jr. told her that his sister was trying out.

Lily didn't let her down. Her agility while flying was nothing like she'd ever seen. The broom didn't even seem to be there, the way she handled it. And when she tried the Wronski Feint she half fell flat on her butt.

"Good, isn't she?" James smirked.

"Good? She's bloody brilliant, she is!" Liza shrieked. Then she increased the volume of her voice magically and screamed "TRYOUTS DONE! LILY POTTER IS THE NEW SEEKER OF THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!"

Lily heard her captain mid-air and, grinning, sped down to the floor, until she was hanging right above it.

Liza addressed her:

"Potter, I'm going to release the Snitch, got it?"

She opened her left hand and the golden, minute ball flew off. Lily let it gain some advantage before she surveyed the pitch. Her quick eye caught sight of it near the top goal hoop and she made her Lightning Bolt increase its speed to maximum. As soon as the Snitch perceived her, it tried to run away. Lily had plenty of experience with Snitches, and her father had even trained her with a jinxed one which hid in the most uncommon places of the house, so she had no problem in cornering it and catching it, within a span of five seconds.

The Gryffindor team cheered.

One of the players, a particular sixth year, looked at her with every bit of interest within his rainy-cloud coloured eyes.

That night, the Gryffindor Quidditch team celebrated enthusiastically. The people who had been rejected- around ten- mostly congratulated her and celebrated with everybody else. No one could be that thick as to try and best her, she was by far a lot more skilled than the rest of them.

There was only one person, a girl, who didn't seemed thrilled by the fact that Lily Potter was the chosen to play Seeker, and made quite a few snide remarks about how convenient it was that the three Potters had all made the team.

"Malfoy" she finally sneered "You're the type of person who always says what he thinks. Didn't you believe that Potter was rather overdoing it? That she was showing off?"

"Obviously" Scorpius, who was looking at the fireplace uninterested "But that's exactly what tryouts are for, Beth. To show _off_ what you can do"

He needed to say no more. The whole House watched her go, absolutely pissed, up the stairs and into her room.

Then Scorpius nodded at Lily, who raised her Butterbeer and grinned at him.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER IX

One month had gone by, each week more tiring than the next. It was finally Saturday, yet to Lily it seemed like years had gone by. Her relationship with her cousin Dominique was as good as it could get, Elle felt like she belonged to the family, James seemed to be even more annoying here than at home and Albus was just his sweet, remarkable self. But something had happened, a really funny, weird and strange event. Lily couldn't help but snigger at the thought of it.

It had occurred three days ago. They'd been walking down the third floor corridor, Dominique, Elle and her, when they heard moans coming from a classroom. Silently, they had opened the door by putting a _Muffliato_ spell on the whole place, and had walked in on a very disturbing scene: Albus was standing in front of a girl, and he was kissing the stars out of her mouth. They hadn't noticed anything and had kept going on for several minutes. Her blouse was unbuttoned and his tie, undone. Albus's hair was even messier than usual, but it could very well be because the girl kept running her hands over his longish mane and grabbing tufts of it.

With a non-verbal spell, Lily took the silence jinx off and said:

"_Hem, hem_!"

Albus turned as if he was some sort of robot, his face pale and his cheeks covered in pink lipstick.

The three friends couldn't help but crack up.

The girl, apparently a Ravenclaw, seemed to smile a little at their hilarity and managed to look somewhat embarrassed. But it was Albus's red to the boot face that they were making fun of.

"She's my... ehm... well... she and-" he stuttered, pointing in every single direction.

"We're dating" said the determined voice of the Ravenclaw.

Lily offered her hand for her to shake.

"My name is Davina" she introduced herself "I'm a fifth year"

So that's why she looked so familiar to Lily. They'd probably been in Care of Magical Creatures together sometime in the week. And that's why she'd been smiling at her knowingly.

"I'm glad Albus finally found a girl. I thought for sure he was a loner. How long have you been going out?"

"Around one year and something? I really don't keep track of time, it easily floats away when I'm with him" Davina surrounded Albus's thin waist with her arms. She was pretty, with dark, curly hair and gorgeous brown eyes.

"One year? I didn't know! He usually tells me everything!" Lily smacked her brother in the head.

"We didn't want to get too much attention" he muttered "And I didn't want her to get bothered by girls who say she's only dating me because I'm... well.. son of dad, you know"

Lily did know. Albus was certainly attractive enough to become a suitable option, and he was just so kind-hearted that no one really needed to do any effort to get along well with him. And yet, most people avoided being too nice to him because of what others would say. James hadn't really thought much about this and he approached any one he could, not really caring about who was with him because of who he was or because they really wanted to get to know him. In the end, everyone became his friends. Albus was much more of a quieter, shyer guy.

She hadn't gone through all that. She had had a boyfriend at Beauxbatons (not that anyone beside Dominique and Albus knew about it) and he'd been with her because he liked her. And it had been him who'd broken up with her. For her _best friend_. Marie had been a slutty, evil witch when she betrayed her. And maybe before, but she hadn't really had any problem with her until then. Well, Derek hadn't broken up with her. She did, after she found them in _her_ bed, using _her_ play toys. The funny thing was, most of that stuff had been given to her by Marie... probably because she knew she would be the one using them in the very end.

Even though she didn't tell Albus, for he would've killed both selfish asses in zero seconds, it had been the main reason she'd transferred to Hogwarts. And the truth was, she didn't regret it for a minute. She loved the castle, the beauty of each of its elegant towers, the lake, the huge grounds, the enormous library with all sorts of books. And truth be spoken, she preferred English to French. She seemed to be gagging and choking when she spoke French, or at least, that was what she thought. Unties Fleur and Gabrielle had complimented her on her "bgilliant accent", but she knew everything that both loved everything that had to do with France and they would've told her that even if hers was the worst accent in the world.

And that Saturday happened a very weird thing.

She was in her beloved library, searching for some information for her History of Magic essay on "Wars of Greeks and Persians", when someone made a sound behind her. She turned around quickly, only to find Will, the Ravenclaw boy she'd met on the train, gazing up at her. He didn't gaze elsewhere, but kept his glance steady.

Lily found herself drawn to him. It was not nearly half as strong as with Scorpius, but his brother's friend had spent the last month avoiding her at all costs, or so it seemed, and she was done expecting anything from him. Maybe James was right, and he was a real idiot. Something inside her mind refused to believe it, but she knew better than to wait for guys who liked girls to come after them, and quite frankly, she'd seen him more than flirt with a girl from his year. So she decided she was over him.

Lily couldn't pretend that Will wasn't attractive, because he was downright hot. His body was muck like James's, tall and lanky, but the hard Quidditch training clearly meant he was not precisely skinny. Plus, she liked the way in which his hair fell down, straight and shiny. His demeanour quite reminded him of his uncle's, George.

"Hi" he said, quietly.

"Hello" she answered, turning her attention back to her books to avoid him seeing her blush.

"I haven't seen much of you recently" he continued.

"Same here. Did you disappear into other dimension I do not know of?"

He smiled when he saw her trying to reach a book that was far out of her reach. Extending his arm, he caught hold of it and gave it to Lily.

"Thanks" she said, awkwardly.

"It's all right" now he seemed like he was shy too.

"Well, bye" she spun round and headed for the exit.

"Wait!" he caught up with her when she was already in the corridor "This afternoon we're going to Hogsmeade. Would you like to come... eh... with me?"

"Like on a date?" Lily questioned.

He blushed lightly.

"Yeah"

She beamed at him.

"Sure"

It was his turn to smile wildly.

"See you in the entrance at four"

"Should I wear something elegant?" she joked.

"You should just go as yourself. It's the way I like you best" he sincerely answered, looking directly into her eyes.

She blushed furiously.

"Okay, see you at four"

Scorpius saw Lily reach the Common Room and fall on the sofa with an ecstatic expression upon her face. He then watched as Dominique walked up to her and Lily whispering something to her. Dominique widened her eyes and then let out a:

"GO, LILY!"

Lily made her hush in between giggles.

Albus came down the stairs and strode to them. Scorpius saw Lily shake her head and mutter something along the words:

"You didn't tell me, I'm not telling you. An eye for an eye, dear brother"

At four, Scorpius walked with Albus and Davina to the castle entrance. It was then when he saw Lily, walking up to Will Rexvoy, his big smile, his hand holding hers, and he understood. A date. A _date_. It was not that he didn't like Will before that, they got along quite well, even if they didn't really have anything in common. But the moment he saw him holding her hand, being the focus of her dreamy stare, he started to hate Will. Hate him to the guts, hate him till there was enough fire in his heart to rip him from limb to limb for even _thinking_ he could go out with Lily Potter. She was _**his**_, something within him snarled.

He heard another snarl much like his own, and turned to see James screeching at the couple.

"You depraved little monster" James said to Will.

"What?" Will was at a loss for words. He thought James found him okay.

"Don't worry, he's like that with everyone he considers a threat to his sister's virginity" Dominique told him.

"And he should stop it right this second" Albus added quietly "It's all right you want to protect her, but harassing the heck out of her won't do the job, and she'll get sick of your attitude. Lay back"

James clearly didn't want to lay back. And neither did Scorpius.

But they weren't waiting for Lily's reaction to the ruckus.

Lily couldn't believe her eldest brother. After her threats, and Harry's anger, and Ginny's anger... James was still the same controlling jackass. And she was tired. So she did the only thing she could think of. She snaked her arms around Will's neck, bringing him closer to her and crashed her lips against his. Without so much as a protest, he embraced her and started deepening the kiss. She could feel his hunger for her, his lust building up, and him growling in displeasure when she broke the kiss.

"Now you know" she told James.

But Albus and Dominique didn't really believe it was only James she was telling.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER X

Christmas came swiftly without Lily noticing much. On the ninth of December she and Will were happily celebrating their two months together. It was a little rushed because both had to go back to their families on the eleventh, but it was sweet and lovely and Lily enjoyed it very much.

Will had proven that he was not only an outstanding student, but a very intelligent and dedicated boyfriend. It was really easy to talk to him, to trust him, to like him. Lily even began to think she was in love with him. But there was something bugging her deeply.

She couldn't deny she didn't like Scorpius snogging girls in front of her, and even the ones who lasted him a while were not to her liking. However, she violently shoved those thoughts away from her mind.

'You have a great boyfriend, you silly girl! Stop thinking about him!' she often scolded her mind for playing dirty tricks on her.

And whilst she did manage to suppress the majority of her feelings and lock them under key in a very dark, narrow alley of her brain, she couldn't quite control the dreams and subconscious feelings at night. Scorpius's face seemed to penetrate best through her defences, tearing them down, when her coercive mind was strolling elsewhere. And her subconscious had apparently taken a shine to the young man's appearance. In her fantasies, Scorpius appeared surrounded by a halo that in real life was far from present, in fact, he usually exhibited a thoughtful and somewhat sourly look to his face. His hair was silvery, each strand a perfect thread of light metallic blonde; his eyes seemed as though all the rain and all the clouds were held within them. And his smile... oh, that delicious smirk that sent chills all over her body.

It had been long since he'd smiled at her that way. Scorpius actually tried to stay clear of her. It was not as if they'd been best of pals, actually, their conversations had been short and casual, mostly because they seemed to happen before going to bed in the Common Room, while all the troupe sat together trying to relax from the hard work's day. But she missed seeing him look at her out of the corner of his eye.

When Christmas came, Lily was relieved. She loved Hogwarts, and felt much more at home in the castle than she'd ever had in Beauxbatons, but she longed to get away from Scorpius's cold stone gazes.

Harry and Ginny were waiting, together with the rest of the Weasley clan, on the platform. They smiled at their children and took them into a tight embrace.

"We'll talk about your letter later in the evening, young miss" Harry warned Lily, who shifter her weight uncomfortably.

She'd finally sent a letter to her dad explaining the whole Animagus issue, and had received an irate letter. Although a distinct proud tone could be felt from the words Harry'd sent Lily, she knew better. Performing such magic was going to earn her a lot of explanations to do.

"We can talk about your past too, daddy" Lily scolded back, her eyes blazing.

Being the curious lass she was, Lily had consulted her cousin Rose first, and then the book which she recommended. She'd actually taken it out of the library, and begged McGonagall to let her take it home. She was already halfway through it.

Lily read it as if this Harry Potter wasn't her dad. She knew just how talented he was, and she couldn't think of a better father, Auror or man in the whole planet. But the things that Harry as a young man had gone through were so difficult to read, even pretending the book wasn't telling her about her dad. Hermione had written it with impeccable style, in a dynamic, entertaining sort of way. Nonetheless, it was hard to picture that story otherwise.

When Lily reached home, at Godric's Hollow, she played with the family cat, Magoria. Ginny had already told her she'd had a litter not two weeks ago, and Lily was looking forwards to making one of them her everyday pet. She had an owl, beautiful black Jeathleave, but she really loved cats and one of them was much more "pettable" than an owl. She found long-haired Balinese cat Magoria with four kittens, each of them more beautiful than the next. She grew particularly fond of the silver one. It was a tomcat, slightly thinner than the rest of them, with a very elegant poise. His head turned to look at her and its grey eyes scanned her. He let out a small yawn and crawled onto her lap, falling asleep.

"We didn't know what to name him" Harry commented, grinning at the image and taking a picture "your mum suggested Moony"

"I rather like Mizu. It means water in japonese"

"Mizu sounds nice... sophisticated. Just like him. I doubt even Magoria could be as gorgeous as this one"

"Who's the dad?"

"Weird as it is, Freim"

Freim was son of Crookshanks, slightly prettier and slightly dumber. And he was old, around thirteen years old, so it was a real wonder that he'd fathered a four-kitten litter.

"Dad!" Albus cried from the hallway "Remember about that issue we've been discussing all term?"

"Yes"

"Please?"

"What is it?"

"Your brother has been begging me the whole term..." Harry started with a groan.

"No! It's a surprise, daddy!"

"All right, then" Harry didn't really look all right with it, what with his arms tightly crossed over his chest and a light frown on his brows.

"Daddy, Albus is the sweet one. What harm could he do?" Lily said soothingly, stroking the lovely new-named Mizu.

Lily woke up on the fourteenth humming to herself. She pulled her long hair up into a loose bun with pencils and dressed herself in a long, wide shirt which had belonged to James and long jeans.

Mizu, who apparently had taken a shine to her, welcomed her as soon as she entered the kitchen by trotting up to her and begging to be picked up. She did as he asked and caressed his little head, making him purr in contentment.

"Hey, there, Potter" an all too familiar voice came from behind her.

She turned around, her eyes wide, her movements mechanic, to face the smug face of Scorpius Malfoy.

She managed to mutter back a hello before exiting the kitchen, cereals in one hand, Mizu hanging from her shoulder. She went directly to her father and just stood there, silently scolding him. She couldn't really express her disagreement with him accepting to invite him over, because what she felt for him was not hatred, but a deep fear. And it was not just fear of him, of the advances he could make, the... flirting with somebody else... but the fact that he stirred most unwelcome emotions inside her. Emotions that should only be reserved for Will, not for that brat! And yet...

"Are you all right, Lily?" Harry asked wearily, standing up and facing her.

"Yes, I'm fine" she commanded her brain to take control and to suppress all those stupid feelings.

"Mr. Potter" Scorpius's voice said "I'd like to thank you again for your kind welcome and you letting me stay here with Al"

Harry smiled, a little forcefully still, but visibly more relaxed by Malfoy's tone.

"And we're so glad your father let you come" Ginny answered, looking absolutely at ease.

"He did wonder about it at first, but then decided to approve. He really likes Albus"

"They know each other?" Harry's jolt was slightly more violent than should've been.

"Yes, my father visited Hogwarts a year ago, more or less, to discuss some issues with McGonagall, and I introduced him to Albus"

"Nice bloke, your dad" Albus grinned.

Harry was looking at his son as if he didn't recognize him.

"_Nice_?" he repeated.

"Harry!" Ginny scowled "I'm sure Draco was perfectly polite to Albus. Don't you forget about Narcissa!"

It was true. Narcissa had helped Andromeda and him with Teddy when he was at his most reckless, most difficult behaviour. She had proven handy when having to discipline him and Harry didn't doubt that she had had to use some of that strict demeanour to educate Draco. Besides, she'd always been very polite to him and they'd even chatted sometimes.

"Erhm... sure, sure" Harry looked distraught "I'm sorry, Scorpius"

"No big deal, I'm used to that, and besides, I know how my dad behaved towards you at school. If there's a person who should hold grudges against the Malfoy family, it's definitely you" Scorpius shrugged it off and grinned, offering his hand to Harry.

After looking at it for a split second, Harry also grinned and shook it.

And after that, Lily knew it was going to be a very long, long, long Christmas.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER XI

Lily woke up and hugged Mizu, who twitched around, a little bothered at the fact that his very sweet and attentive owner was snuggling him like a teddy bear. He meowed loudly, making Lily giggle. She let the kitten go and he proudly lied back down. The girl covered him up with the blanket, something which made him purr delightfully. She then dressed herself up in a loose shirt which left her left shoulder bare and her home jeans.

Mizu, probably wondering whether he'd be left out without breakfast or not, decided to stretch himself and follow her down the stairs to the living room, where it purposefully jumped to perch himself on Lily's shoulder. He purred, admiring the tall view.

The kitchen was swarming with people, seeing as it was New Year's Eve. Ginny was cutting potatoes, helped by Hermione, who had magically enchanted several knives to slice other ingredients as she focused on the more delicate procedures. Ron and Harry were outside, getting the tent ready. Charlie Weasley was with them, which made Lily smirk. Out of all her uncles and aunties, she preferred Charlie the best. She was also his favourite niece.

Lily kissed Mizu's head as she noticed him getting ready to go feed from the milk bowl that stood next to the rest of the litter. Albus and James had already picked theirs too: Albus had named his kitten Ephraim in honour of a very important Quidditch Chaser; and James's was called Nut because he seemed to be just as crazy as his owner. The one left was the only female of the litter, and surprisingly was now owned by Scorpius. Harry had given her to him in a rather tender moment. He hadn't named her yet, or at least never said it out loud. She was a beautiful dark red with stripes. She and Mizu were really good to each other.

Lily grabbed a scone and ran outside to hug Charlie, who easily scooped her up into the air and threw her around. She closed her eyes blissfully: she loved the feeling of flying.

"Well, here's my young and beautiful niece!" Charlie laughed "You get more dashing every time I see you"

"And you lie more and more each time I see you!" she retorted, also laughing.

"They've told me you've made the team as the Seeker. That's my girl! I always knew you were cut out to be a Quidditch star!"

"Could you please be more exaggerated?" she rolled her eyes.

"Is that a scone?" Ron said from behind.

"Yes, Hermione has just taken them out of the oven. I don't think she'll let you grab one, though"

"Why not? You have one!"

"Because she can trust me with not eating the whole lot!" Lily answered back.

Ron blushed a little and turned to Harry.

"Your daughter is getting so cheeky!"

"You had that one coming and you know it" Hugo said, punching his dad's arm, only to suffer the ruffling of his wild hair.

"Well, my niece. Are you up for a football game?" Charlie asked, his eyes gleaming wildly.

The two teams were made. On one side, Harry and Albus played attack, James was goalkeeper and the defence was supplied by Fred Jr. and George. On the other side, Charlie and Lily prepared to attack, Ginny and Victoire were defence and Ron acted as goalkeeper. Scorpius, never having played the game before, decided to watch.

The Potters had purchased a field quite a few years ago, when Albus was born, and the children had made sure to buy goals in order to play their favourite muggle game. They had a TV at home and regularly watched the games. Each was a fan of a different team: while Harry and Albus fanned over Liverpool, Lily was a huge Barcelona supporter. James liked Manchester best and Ginny, though she didn't say, also supported Barcelona.

Hermione came into the pitch with the ball safely tucked under her arm and a whistle in her hand.

"Remember, this is a Muggle sport. So NO MAGIC!" Red card for ANYONE who I see with a wand on the field. Is that clear?"

Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows. What the hell was a red card?

"A red card means that the player making the fault is actually thrown from the game. Officially the player won't be able to play the next match either as retribution. They're usually taken out in serious circumstances" a voice next to him explained.

Scorpius turned around to look at Rose. She was looking at him with a somewhat gracious smile, but her eyes quickly turned to the game. She seemed to be interested in it despite the book on her lap.

"So…"

"Football is really easy to understand. There are normally eleven team members per team, plus the extra ones. They can change only three players during the hour and a half game, no more. There's a goalkeeper, defence, middle-fielders and attackers. The distribution of the players depends on the team and the team they're facing. For example, if you know that your rival has a better attack than you do, you focus on defence, hence putting more defenders and fewer attackers. Main rule is: no hands. As soon as your hand touches the ball, you're out. Only the goalkeeper can use his hands to catch the ball, and when you're doing a thrown-in. Period. Now watch the game and you'll understand"

It was true. Scorpius started to understand the game as soon as he started to watch it. Soon he could identify the fine players. James wass an exceedingly good goalkeeper and Lily and Charlie had to really fight to score the three goals. Fred Jr. was far better than his dad George. Harry was mediocre and so were Ron and Victoire. Albus and Ginny were both quite bad at the sport. Charlie and Lily, however, seemed to be unbeatable when they played together. It was not that they were extraordinary by themselves, but their play style was so defined, almost like they could read each other's thoughts, that no one could tackle them.

The game ended in a three-two score. All of them were sweaty and had to take turns to shower. Lily was called aside by Victoire, who gave her a wrapped package.

"This is your Christmas present. I wanted to give this to you in person. Please wear it today"

"Thanks a lot! I will!"

As soon as she was safe inside her bedroom, she opened the present to find a new pair of vintage black jeans, ripped at various points. The top was a beautiful dark purple sleeveless shirt with the outline of a fading rose drawn on the chest and a lace top to avoid getting cold. Her biggest smile came with the shoes: Victoire, with her exquisite taste, had picked a pair of decently heeled short boots made of dark leather.

'Thanks so much, coz' she thought as she went into the bathroom.

When she got back, she dressed herself in her new outfit, outlined her eyes and tied her hair up in a ponytail. Then she walked down the stairs to help her family. Scorpius was in the living room, already getting prepared to return home for New Year. He walked into the chimney with his backpack and said goodbye to everyone who had gathered there. His eyes fell on her and widened in awe. With a last smirk, he said the name of his home and was swallowed by green flames. She would never forget that look, the slightly surprised but already knowledgeable look in those grey eyes, the spark in them as his lips formed that particularly twisted smile she'd come to love and yearn for…

"Someone's far from this Earth" Charlie whispered into her ear. She jumped in surprise.

"Oh, no… it's just…"

"You're going to tell me all about this Scorpius guy at lunch today, missy. I will not tolerate secrets from you"


	12. Chapter 12

PART 2: SIXTH YEAR

CHAPTER XII

_After Christmas, Lily and Scorpius didn't talk much to each other for the rest of the year. __She's now fifteen years old and another year is starting at Hogwarts: James graduated with rather high grades and is now working at the Gringotts Bank in the same position Bill had all those years ago: he breaks curses; Albus is on his final year, ready to take the N.E.W.T.s that are needed to become part of the Ministry of Magic in the Law Department and Lily is deciding what it is that she wants to do with her future. Having a thing for flying and Dragons, she's thinking about either joining the Holyhead Harpies or pursuing a career as professional Quidditch player._

Harry drove his two youngest children to the King's Cross train station. Before opening the door and exiting the car, he turned in his seat to look at Albus and Lily.

Albus was too busy looking for his mobile phone to call his new Muggle girlfriend. She didn't know about his real identity and he'd had to buy some way to communicate with her, though he didn't really know if it would work at Hogwarts. MacGonagall had assured him that there was a good chance it might, but he wasn't entirely sure. His hair looked a little too long and shaggy, but he was better looking than Harry had been at his age. He was already taller than his dad too.

Lily had done something else entirely: her hair was cropped short, barely covering the nape of her neck, but the cut, performed by Victoire, who was a clothes designer, was impeccable and really suited her. The way she dressed reminded Harry of the children back in the eighties and nineties. She seemed like a young, female version of Kurt Cobain. She'd broken up with Will at the end of last year after he told her he was beginning to like some other girl. It pained her a little but she understood and was soon over him. Besides, she hadn't really been in love with him.

Lily smiled at Harry and kissed his cheek in a sudden affective moment. Harry adored the way his youngest kid always found a moment to display her affection for people.

"Guys, behave this year" he said. He really didn't need to. These two were the good children; the mischievous one was already out and about, making a respectable man of himself.

"We promise not to get caught if we do something strange" Lily swore in a mock-bored tone.

Ginny was waiting for them at the station because the book she'd written about Gwenogg, the epic Harpies' captain, was being published today and she'd had to visit her editor at seven in the morning.

They found her next to Platform 9, and she kissed her husband and hugged her kids briefly before they set to cross the wall.

The Hogwarts Express waited for the students, its scarlet colour shining proudly, the steam curling up in the air as it rose swiftly from the chimney, the place swarming with people.

Mizu and Ephraim were inside a pet basket. It was their first time going to Hogwarts and they seemed excited.

A figure rushed around them until it was standing in front of Harry. The man in question was thin and with sharp features. His receeding hair was long and platinum and two stone hard eyes sparkled with dark humour on his abnormally pale face. Draco Malfoy spoke quickly:

"Potter, the Minister wants you in his office. Apparently they've rounded up quite a few young people who claim to be Death Eaters. You should check it out"

"All right. Thanks, Malfoy"

Malfoy nodded briefly and turned around. Harry said goodbye to his children and wife in a hurry and left as fast as he could, Disapparating himself.

Ginny kissed his children's temples and they hopped onto the train, their luggage in their hand. The engine started and a last alert was given to the students. Rose and Hugo quickly found them. They all smiled at each other, eager to start the new term.

The group found Elle and Eric sitting on their own in an otherwise empty compartment. They had finally gotten together at the party to celebrate Gryffindor winning the House Cup, and now seemed to be really entertained in sucking the tongues out of each other's mouths.

Rose sat down and opened her Transformations book, starting to read almost immediately. Dominique entered the compartment almost as a star. She was getting more beautiful each passing year, a red-head copy of her mother and sister, but perhaps the feisty colour of her hair was more becoming to her strong willed character.

Albus was already furiously texting Alicia, his Muggle girlfriend. She was a delightful girl one year his senior with auburn hair and almond shaped eyes the colour of the sea. She was going to Cambridge the next year to study Biology and Albus really wanted to go with her. It all fitted perfectly.

Lily quickly let Mizu and Ephraim out and started playing with the two already adult cats. Ephraim looked more like his Persian father, but Mizu was a silver copy of Magoria. Jethleave hooted indignantly, indicating that she didn't want to have all those felines around her, but Lily refused to cage the cats.

The compartment door opened and a red, female version of Mizu, with longer hair and slightly more slender body, entered, followed by two feet in dark green Converse. Lily lifted her eyes and had to hold back a yelp. Scorpius looked grown-up and downright _hot_. His body was covered by a white sweatshirt which subtly gave an idea of what his body was like under it. He wore the jeans in place, not as low as James had taken to wear them recently. His hair was a little shorter than Albus, but fell in such a way that the boy did _not_ look shaggy in the least bit.

Lily felt her mouth go dry. She had to get away from Scorpius right now. She couldn't handle it. And after the way she stood up and watched him X-ray her just as she had done him, she just knew she had to leave the compartment. So muttering some lame excuse, she took off.

Lily walked down to the bathrooms and locked herself up in one of the stalls. She was shaky and pale. How could that be? She had handled it better last year than now. She didn't understand the lust inside of her now. She couldn't deal with it. No way. No.

"Lils, are you all right?" Dominique said from outside.

"No" she replied, noticing how her voice trembled.

"What was that all about?"

"I don't know" she sounded scared, even terrified.

"Real… Scorpius, you can't come in here! This is the girls' bathroom!"

"Dom" the nickname was enough. She heard the soft steps of her cousin leave and she saw the Converse stop in front of the stall where she was.

"Go away" she weakly managed.

"Lily, open the door" it wasn't a petition. It was a command.

"No"

"All right, you leave me no choice"

Scorpius fell to his knees and crawled inside through the opened bottom part of the door. He swiftly pulled himself up. She hid her face, but he held her chin and made her turn towards him.

"What did just happen?"

"You…" she began, but she saw it. The sparkle of humour in his eyes. The mocking.

"You ASS! You knew what happened! You…"

But his lips crashed down on hers in a furious kiss. She moaned in surprise, but quickly responded, holding him closer to her, her fingers travelling along his hair. He smashed her against the wall, ravishing her, his hands everywhere. She didn't care. She wanted it. She wanted _him_.

Some steps were heard and squeals came after. They stopped their kissing almost immediately, panting heavily, and Scorpius sat with his legs crossed on the WC, his face an innocent mask of the need he'd felt for her. She grinned at him and he mimicked it, bursting into hearty chuckles. She couldn't help but giggle like a little girl.

The two girls left without having noticed and they burst into outright laughter. It took quite a while until both were fit to leave the bathroom stall and head back to the compartment. Both sat down next to each other, contemplating a few inches of formal separation. They didn't want to have to explain the whole making out scene in the bathrooms to the rest of the people. Dominique and Albus, however, narrowed their eyes at them.

Three hours later, the train finally stopped at the Hogsmeade station and all the students, already dressed in their Hogwarts robes, stampeded out. Lily and Albus managed to cage the three cats together. Mizu and the female cat Scorpius owned recognised each other with glee and set into a bathing frenzy of one another.

"You've never told me her name" Lily said to Scorpius.

The reaction was one she'd never seen before. A slight reddish tint covered Scorpius's cheeks and he looked away, seemingly at a loss for words.

"The cat's called Giglia" Albus supplied. He didn't seem to know what it meant. Bit Lily did. She also blushed, and a lot more than Scorpius.

"'Ello, people! 'Ow 'ave yer been?" the booming voice close to them asked.

They turned around to see Hagrid crowding the first years around him, lamp in hand.

"Fine, thanks! And you?" Hugo replied.

"I'm good, I'm good" the huge man answered, grinning wildly at them "Now yer be on yer way. Don't want to be late"

Soon afterwards, they were arriving at the castle doors. Scorpius and Lily still hadn't said a word to each other. Lily just hoped that everyone would go to bed early tonight.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER XIII

The Sorting was quite quick and dinner was excellent, as always. Hugo hadn't yet acquired table manners and quite a few first years watched in awe as he stuffed pork into his open mouth.

"Would you be so kind as to shut that mouth when you're chewing? You're gross!" Dominique bantered.

"Whaf? I'm ungy!" he exclaimed, stretching his arm to get some stew from the pot.

Meanwhile, Lily was talking to a new boy with hair as black as a raven and strange light blue eyes.

"I don't belong to a Magic family. I'm going to be behind at most everything" he said, his eyes downcast.

"Not really. See that girl over there?" she pointed at Rose and he nodded "Her mum was the most intelligent girl in her class, the best there was, and she was Muggle born"

The boy seemed to cheer up a bit.

"Besides" Albus had been listening to the conversation "it has to do with the effort you put into it"

"Talking about effort, we need a Beater, a Keeper and a Chaser" Dominique said.

It was true. The team needed new members to replace the ones that had left. James had left a Beater position vacant and so had Wood.

"Scorpius is captain this year" Albus pointed at him. Scorpius looked calm.

"We're going to change the style a little this year" he said after a small pause "You gave me quite a few ideas last year at Christmas and I've been rummaging all summer about how to improve our play"

"You're going to base our strategy on football?" Dominique could barely believe him.

"I've visited a football club this summer, learnt how to play and I think we can pull it"

"Which club?" Lily asked curiously.

The new boy, named Andrew, was also listening intently. He didn't understand what sport they were talking about but he was a huge football fan.

"Barcelona Football Club in Spain"

Lily grinned at him and high-fived him. Albus let out a groan and the boy's eyes gleamed.

"It's the best team in the world!" he said.

"Of course it is" Lily retorted "So, how can you possibly unite these two sports?"

"You'll see"

That night the group sat down on the couches in the Gryffindor Common Room, but most said goodbye after half an hour and went to sleep, exhausted. Two people remained there, watching the fire glow and lick the oxygen it needed to burn. Mizu ran down from the room and jumped on his owner's lap, demanding attention. Lily stroked his long, silvery fur and cupped his face to kiss his nose. He licked hers in return and she giggled. Mizu loved to snuggle against her because he knew that she would embrace and pet him.

Lily lifted her head to see Scorpius intently looking at her from his armchair. Hazel eyes found grey ones and she felt something inside of her twinge in anticipation. Scorpius stood up slowly and walked to the spot where she was half laying down. Mizu meowed when he gently pushed him aside, but accepted Giglia's sweet cleansing as compensation. Scorpius kneeled on the sofa and towered over her. Lily's hands travelled to his neck and pulled him to her. The first kiss was tender, barely more than a peck. But Lily made it clear that she would not settle for that and deepened the kiss. Scorpius's fingers clutched her uniform blouse and slipped under to touch her skin. She gasped and felt him smile against her lips. As revenge, she started nibbling his ear lobe, earning moans from his side.

"Be careful, woman" Scorpius huskily told her.

"You be careful" she replied.

"Scorpius!" a male voice exclaimed as they heard steps running down the stairs. As fast as they could, they positioned themselves with a decorous amount of separation from one another, each with their cat on their arms. Albus found them, their hair absolutely wild, shy eyes and both petting their cats with almost too much dedication.

"Scorpius, my phone works!" he said.

"Oh, good for you" Scorpius answered absently.

Albus smirked knowingly.

"You might want to fix the buttons on your shirt, Scorp. And comb your hair" he then climbed the stairs again, to leave two most embarrassed people behind.


End file.
